Last month, our Cabinet theme was doors. So let’s look a little more closely at this door. This one—pay attention, please—the one right here, which just materialized in front of you. Look closer. Bend down. Just under the knob.

Recognize that? It’s a keyhole, my friend. For if you have a door, you must have a key. And KEYS are the theme for our Cabinet tales this September.

Of course, not all keys belong to doors. Some keys might unlock great chests heavy with the weight of centuries of dust. Some might unlock a simple padlock hanging from a gym locker. Some might unlock a human heart—or, for that matter, a human liver.

The questions is what you get, when you’ve done the unlocking. What’s in that chest? What will pop out of that locker, or that heart? Will it be something awfully nice? Or awfully not?

Our stories this month, not surprisingly, are most likely to address the “awfully not” scenario. I hope they will encourage you to think twice before you use a key, just because it’s dangling at the end of your pocket keychain. Even if it only opens the door to your own house, you can never be quite sure what’s waiting inside.